Transport for London (TfL) has today published its Festive Travel Guide to help Londoners and visitors travelling around the Capital between Christmas and New Year.

Those travelling in and around the city over the festive period are urged to check the Guide before they travel as there will be some changes to normal services.

The guide contains details of Tube, London Buses, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Tramlink, London Overground, Riverboat services, Barclays Cycle Hire and the Congestion Charge throughout the entire festive period from Christmas Eve Saturday 24 December 2011, to Bank Holiday Monday 2 January 2012.

The guide will be available at all Tube stations and online at www.tfl.gov.uk/festivetravel and at information points at bus stations, DLR, Tramlink and London Overground stations.

Travel will be free on all journeys between 23:45 on New Year’s Eve and 04:30 on New Year’s Day on Tube, London Buses, Tramlink and DLR services.

London Overground Services will also be free from 23:45 until last train times.

The Mayor of London and TfL last week announced a  partnership with Diageo to support free New Year’s Eve travel for next three years, including a responsible drinking promotion from 9 December until the New Year.

Barclays Cycle Hire members and casual users will be able to hire bikes as normal, although some docking stations will be temporarily out of service during the holiday period, particularly on New Year’s Eve for safety reasons.

Essential Tube and London Overground engineering works will be taking place over the festive period, we advise all passengers to check before they travel at www.tfl.gov.uk where details of line closures can be found.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24 December, a Saturday service will operate on the Underground until 7pm, and then a reduced service for the rest of the evening.

Last trains will run at Sunday times.

A Saturday service will operate on the bus network with some exceptions. There will be no night buses and on 24 hour routes, buses will operate until just after midnight.

On the DLR, buses will replace trains between Bank/Tower Gateway and Poplar/West India Quay.

Other routes will operate a modified Saturday service until 7pm, after which a reduced service will operate with last trains at Sunday times.

On the London Overground a Saturday service will operate with last trains departing about 9.30pm (8.30pm on the Stratford – Richmond/Clapham Junction route).

On London Tramlink, a Saturday service will operate, but with a reduced timetable from 8pm.

Riverboat services will be running a reduced timetable.

Many coach operators will reduce services from early evening, with last departures from Victoria Coach station leaving at around 9pm.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, Sunday 25 December, there will be no service on the Tube, London Buses, DLR, London Overground, Tramlink or on the river.

Boxing Day

On Boxing Day, Monday 26 December from 8.30am a reduced service will operate on all Tube lines with last trains at Sunday times.

On London Buses from about 8.30am a Sunday service will operate on all routes.

Additionally on routes 81, 90, 105, 111, 140,203, 222, 285, 350, 423, 482, 490, A10, H25, H26, U3 and X26 a Sunday service will operate from about 5.30am in order to serve Heathrow Airport.

There will be no service on route 84. A weekday night service will operate on all 24 hour and night bus routes.

On DLR, buses will replace trains between Bank/Tower Gateway and Poplar/West India Quay.

On other routes, trains will run every 15 minutes between about 8.30am and 11.30pm.

There will be no services on London Overground.

On London Tramlink a Sunday service will operate with the frequency increased between Wimbledon and East Croydon.

There are no Riverboat services except: Westminster – London Eye – Tower – Greenwich, which will run a normal service.

Bank Holiday, Tuesday 27 December

A Saturday service will operate on the majority of Tube lines.

On London Buses a Sunday service will operate on the majority of day routes while the rest will run a Saturday service.

A weekday night service will operate on all 24 hour and Night bus routes.

London Tramlink will be operating a Sunday service with the frequency increased between Wimbledon and East Croydon.

There will be no Riverboat services except: Westminster – London Eye – Tower Greenwich, which will be running a normal service.

New Year’s Eve

Revellers who want to see in the New Year in central London are advised to plan ahead and in particular be prepared for large crowds, and long waits for the designated viewing areas for the fireworks display.

Peter Hendy, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “The New Year’s Eve fireworks display that takes place at the EDF London Eye provides spectacular entertainment and is enormously popular, attracting large crowds that should be prepared for a long wait at the designated viewing areas along the Thames. As a result people with young children may wish to consider celebrating nearer to home.

“For those wishing to brave the crowds and long waiting times, public transport will be the best way to get around the Capital on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m pleased we can continue to offer this for free not just this year, but for the next three years thanks to our partnership with Diageo, but I urge revellers to plan their journeys well in advance.”

There will be free travel on all journeys between 23:45 until 04:30 on the Tube, DLR, London Buses and Tramlink.

Tube, DLR and Tramlink services will run all night on New Year’s Eve.

Some selected Tube stations will be closed completely or for periods at a time, the Festive Travel Guide lists these closures.

A Saturday night service will operate on night bus and 24 hour routes, subject to road closures in central London.

Free travel will apply on London Overground trains running after 11.45pm until last train times.

Riverboat services will run mainly normal services but London Eye will not be served after 2.30pm in order to prepare for the firework display.

Some routes will operate on New Year’s Day, but a normal service will not resume until Sunday 2 January.

Some Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations will be temporarily out of service for safety reasons at various times throughout the holiday period including New Year’s Eve.

For the latest information on docking station availability, users should check online at: www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire

There will be a reduced number of UK coaches departing from Victoria Coach Station with last coaches leaving at around 8pm.

National Rail will operate modified timetables with additional late night departures and a limited number of routes will operate until about 5am. Normal rail fares will apply.

Congestion Charge

From Saturday 24 December until Bank Holiday Monday 2 January inclusive, the central London Congestion Charge will be suspended and motorists will not have to pay.

Dial-a-Ride

Dial-a-Ride will be operating every day over Christmas and New Year and all members have been sent details of how to book journeys over this period.

For further information please contact Dial-a-Ride direct on 0845 999 1 999.

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

TfL publishes annual Festive Travel Guide with free travel for New Year revellers sponsored by Diageo

The changes will include five additional trains on the busy Wimbledon branch providing space for 4,000 extra passengers during the morning peak, more trains during the evening service with six trains per hour until 23:30hrs and an additional train on the Ealing Broadway branch to get an extra 800 customers home during the evening peak.

The changes were the subject of a major consultation exercise earlier this year, in which nearly 18,000 customers, local business and stakeholders took part, almost 80 per cent of whom were in favour.

Smoother travel through Earl’s Court

The timetable has been designed to improve service for the 200,000 passengers who travel on the Wimbledon branch of the District line each day.

In particular, the removal of the poorly used weekday Olympia service will deal with bottlenecks in the Earl’s Court area which currently hold up more than 20 percent of District line trains entering Earl’s Court behind an Olympia train.

This wait in the tunnel, at one of the one of the most complex junctions on the Tube network, will be reduced, directly speeding up journeys for the 150,000 customers who are affected by delays at the station.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Hundreds of thousands of passengers will benefit from this practical and pragmatic change to markedly improve the most congested part of the tube network.”

Olympia services

Howard Collins, LU’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “The introduction of the new timetable in December will reduce delays across the whole line and, in particular, benefit the 150,000 passengers who are affected by delays at Earl’s Court each day by reducing congestion in the area.

“It will also provide more room for more than 4,000 passengers on the Wimbledon branch, the busiest branch on the line, during the morning peak and an enhanced evening service.

“The Olympia service will continue to operate during the weekend and we will also operate a special weekday service during the busiest events at Olympia.”

Passengers using Kensington (Olympia) already benefit from improved London Overground services, with four trains serving the station every hour carrying 600 passengers per train, and interchange to the Tube available at both West Brompton (District line) and Shepherd’s Bush (Central line) stations.

Southern services will also continue to serve the station.

During the week customers can use nearby Barons Court or West Kensington stations, both of which are close to the Olympia Exhibition Centre, and regular accessible bus services to High Street Kensington, and step-free stations Hammersmith, Fulham Broadway and Green Park.

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

District line timetable improvements from this weekend

Northern line platforms at Tottenham Court Road will reopen on Monday 28 November after eight months of behind-the-scenes work to make it possible to build new access routes, new staircases and a lift.

When complete in 2016, station capacity will dramatically increase as part of the major station upgrade.

During the closure, since April 2011, a team of more than 100 people have been working around the clock to complete the critical structural works, involving the installation of more than 1,000 tonnes of new steel tunnel sections.

The work prepares the way for the full station upgrade which will transform the station by 2016 with increased capacity, new entrances and step free access.

Bear with us

David Waboso, Capital Programmes Director, said: ‘We would like to thank passengers for their patience whilst the Northern line platforms have been closed.

‘There is still further work to be done behind the scenes at the station and passengers will notice that the platforms only have a temporary render finish on the walls.

‘Our priority has been to reopen the platforms as soon as the heavy civil engineering works were completed and they could be used safely by customers.

‘As works to upgrade the station continue, we ask passengers to continue to bear with us.’

The £500m station upgrade is part of the Tube upgrade plan to ease congestion, improve accessibility and provide direct interchange with Crossrail services when they arrive in 2018.

Transforming the station

When Tottenham Court Road was built over 100 years ago, it was not designed to be used by the 147,000 people that now use it daily, or the 200,000 plus daily users expected when Crossrail comes to the station in 2018.

As part of the Tube upgrade plan, London Underground is transforming the station to:

• Increase the size of the ticket hall by nearly six times
• Introduce step free access from street to platform
• Provide four new or modernised entrances
• Deliver new escalators and improved interchanges between platforms
• Connect with a new Crossrail ticket hall at Dean Street.

View video updates of the works under way at Tottenham Court Road on YouTube or at tfl.gov.uk/tubeupgradeplan

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Northern line platforms to reopen at Tottenham Court Road

Passengers using the Central line will soon begin to benefit from a rejuvenation of their carriages.

After 19 years in service the current fleet of trains is being revamped to bring passengers cleaner, more comfortable trains to serve the next generation of passengers and beyond.

The overhaul of the fleet includes replacing 4,060 windows, replacing the side panels that make up the outside of the trains, and covering 23,144 seats with a new fabric.

The outside of every carriage on all 85 trains in the fleet will also be coated with a protective film that will make them easier to clean.

As part of the upgrade works the gearboxes and their housings have been modified, as have the frames which house the wheels and axles.

That work will improve the reliability of the trains and should mean the trains will be able to travel greater distances before experiencing a fault.

The work should potentially increase the distance Central line trains can travel before experiencing a fault by around another 1,000 kilometres.

The trains are being worked on in pairs so as not to affect normal services.

The work will cost £27m and the entire fleet will be complete before the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year, in readiness for an influx of passengers that will be heading to and from Stratford.

Peter Tollington, Central line Manager, said: ‘We are going to greatly improve the look of our trains and make them as comfortable as possible for commuters and visitors to the Olympic Park.’

London-based design company Wallace Sewell’s blue and red ‘moquette’ fabric is inspired by London landmarks.

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Central line trains overhauled for the 2012 Games and beyond

Customers on Central line trains could find themselves sitting next to an artwork by acclaimed artist Michael Landy.

andy was commissioned by Art on the Underground earlier this year to produce Acts of Kindness, an art project where customers and staff were asked to submit their stories of kindness to the artist via the Transport for London website.

The artist then created artworks from the stories.

Every day stories

The project celebrates the ordinary acts of generosity and compassion that take place every day on the Tube.

Artwork by the artist in the form of red figures and the words ‘self’ and ‘other’ by Michael Landy have been integrated into new Tube seating fabric that is being installed as part of a revamp of the Central line fleet.

In the run up to Kindness Day UK on Sunday 13 November four brand new stories of kindness artworks will be on display on trains and at stations for customers to enjoy as they travel across London.

Central line art galleries

Eight stations on the Central line now have Michael Landy artworks on display.

These are Liverpool Street, St. Paul’s, Chancery Lane, Holborn, Leyton, Hanger Lane, Holland Park and Lancaster Gate. These artistic creations will also be shown at 12 more stations by Christmas.

The new stories include; a tale about how passengers on a Tube carriage made a young boy smile as they passed round his large helium balloon in a gentle relay race; another story tells of how the owners of a lost birthday gift which was left on a train were reunited with the present after the kind actions of a tourist.

More stories are published on the Acts of Kindness web page.

An eye out for art

Tamsin Dillon, Head of Art on the Underground, said: ‘Customers should keep a look out for new artworks by Michael Landy while travelling on London Underground trains -  they could find themselves sitting next to well-known artist Michael Landy’s work which forms part of the new Tube seating fabric on newly refurbished Central line trains.’

The new Tube seating fabric on Central line trains, which surrounds Michael Landy’s artwork, is by London-based design company Wallace Sewell.

Wallace Sewell’s blue and red ‘moquette’ is inspired by London landmarks.

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Transport for London New Acts of Kindness artwork now on Tube seats and trains

New to this winter, First Hull Trains customers can now also use this fantastic offer on the EDF Energy London Eye, to view the spectacular city skyline from a height of 135m.

David Townend, Sales and Marketing Manager at First Hull Trains, said: “Due to the continued success of this offer, First Hull Trains would like to encourage passengers travelling to London to not only enjoy their trip on board our services, but also to take advantage of some fantastic 2FOR1 offers on top London attractions. Activities and attractions such as those included in the offer mean that visitors to London can save a lot of money and really make a trip to the capital affordable.”

For more information about this offer, look out for First Hull Trains 2FOR1 London leaflets at your local station or click on to http://www.hulltrains.co.uk/241.php

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

2FOR1 trips on the EDF Energy London Eye with First Hull Trains

Transport for London (TfL) has welcomed the news that as part of the franchise award to Abellio of the Greater Anglia national rail service Oyster pay as you go acceptance will be extended to key stations along the line.

This includes: Theobalds Grove, Waltham Cross, Cheshunt, Brentwood, Shenfield, Broxbourne, Rye House, St Margarets, Ware and Hertford East.

The franchise, announced by the Department for Transport, is due to begin in February 2012.

The roll-out of Oyster pay as you go to all commuter rail services within Greater London in 2010 was a huge success and over 2.5 million journeys a week are now made using Oyster on National Rail.

Discussions have been ongoing with all of the train operating companies about extending the acceptance of Oyster beyond the Greater London Travelcard area where it makes sense to do so, and the Greater Anglia service is the first of these to be confirmed.

Shashi Verma, TfL’s Director of Customer Experience, said: ‘This is great news for commuters coming in to London from further out along the national rail network. Instead of swapping between tickets once they arrive in London, Greater Anglia commuters will be able to pay for all of their travel using the ease and convenience of Oyster.

‘We look forward to working with Abellio on getting Oyster up and running at their key stations in the new year.’

Pay as you go with Oyster not only charges the lowest fares in nearly every case but also saves time, as there is no need to queue to buy a ticket, passengers simply top up their card at any suitable ticket machine or online.

TfL is only responsible for setting the Oyster pay as you go fares on its own services.

The fares for using Oyster on national rail, both in London and beyond the London borders, will continue to be the responsibility of the train company.

The costs of extending Oyster, including the installation of readers, will be met by Abellio.

TfL has also welcomed the additional improvements that the new franchise deal will deliver for London rail commuters along the Greater Anglia line, including station refurbishments with upgrades to CCTV and help points, additional cycle racks to encourage commuters to continue their journeys on two wheels, and new service status boards.

These improvements will deliver the same great benefits that customers have seen on the London Overground network since TfL took it over in 2007, a line which has seen ridership and performance increase significantly and was recently given an 89 per cent satisfaction rating in the national Passenger Focus survey.

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Oyster pay as you go to be extended to national rail stations between Liverpool Street and Hertford East

First Hull Trains has announced that passengers can now book tickets to and from the capital up until January 6th, allowing customers to prepare their travel plans for the Christmas period.

In promotion of this announcement, Father Christmas himself has been out and about on the Hull-based rail operating company’s Hull to London service. Getting off at several of the stops en-route, he made time to meet and greet station staff and passengers, bringing a touch of Christmas sparkle, to these mid autumnal days.

David Townend, sales and marketing manager at First Hull Trains, said: “At First Hull Trains we understand that passengers want to be able to plan and book their journeys for the holiday season as soon as possible. This is why we open up sales on tickets up to 12 weeks in advance of travel, giving customers the time to organise their Christmas and New Year plans.”

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Let First Hull Trains take you home this Christmas

Image via Wikipedia

From January 2012 for a period of around nine weeks, Network Rail will be carrying out essential improvement work to Ore tunnel.

The work is taking place to improve the drainage and repair the lining inside to prevent water seepage. At the same time other work including upgrading points and signals to improve reliability, and the maintenance of bridges and tracks that could lead to higher line speeds will also be taking place.

Unfortunately, this work requires the closure of the line between Hastings and Rye.

For the period of work, Southern will be providing rail replacement bus services between Hastings and Ashford International on weekdays, and on some weekends, this bus service will be extended to Bexhill, also due to planned engineering work.

We will publish more details regarding the bus service on this site and at stations a little nearer the time.

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Essential repair work to Ore tunnel in January – Important information

Image via Wikipedia

Local residents and stakeholders have been giving their thoughts on the proposal to London Underground for the past 6 weeks.

The proposal details plans for a modest development that would help fund key station improvements.

The plans, which have been created with input from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, reflect local residents’ concerns by aiming to enhance the listed elements of the station and the surrounding neighbourhood.

As such, the existing arcade, listed shop fronts and northern and southern entrances would all be retained, as would the facade of the Thurloe Street terrace.

The ‘Ox-blood’ station building would also be retained and integrated with the residential development over the station ticket office.

A study has been carried out in order to establish how best to address a problem at the station where the narrow flight of stairs from the District and Circle lines platforms is causing congestion problems.

In addition, some customers find the station difficult to use because it can only be accessed via stairs.

See the study and comment on the proposal.

The results of the study have shown that the best option would be a lift from a new Thurloe Street entrance into an enlarged ticket hall, as well as new stairs and a lift to the District and Circle line platforms.

David Waboso, LU’s Capital Programmes Director, said: ‘We would like to thank everyone who has shared their thoughts with us over the last few weeks and urge anyone else who wants to have their say to do so before Friday.

‘This development has been designed with local concerns in mind and we feel that this is the best option for the community whilst also providing us with an opportunity to implement a number of key station improvements.

‘Without this development we do not have the funds to carry out the works which will help to reduce congestion and provide step-free access to the District and Circle lines at South Kensington station.’

Click HERE to find the cheapest ticket for your next UK train journey.

Post from: Buy Cheap Train Tickets

Last chance to add your thoughts on South Kensington Tube station redevelopment